Domestic violence bills backed by House committee

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A package of bills that would toughen domestic violence laws has received support from the House criminal justice committee.

One proposal by New Orleans Rep. Helena Moreno would allow harsher punishments for people convicted of domestic abuse by adding domestic violence aggravated assault to the list of crimes of violence.

Another would put limits on firearm possession for people convicted in domestic violence cases, barring some offenders from having guns for up to a decade after serving their sentences.

The committee backed the bills without objection Wednesday, but reworked them first. Among the changes, lawmakers removed a requirement that police seize firearms at the scene of a domestic violence crime.